Artificial fingernail and toenail formulations in the form of nail coatings and enhancements are an important product line in the appearance and beauty industry. Commercial artificial nail formulations have been used to enhance the appearance of nails and to enhance the physical properties of nails, including strengthening fragile nail surfaces.
Conventional nail coatings may be classified into two categories: nail polishes (also known as lacquers, varnish or enamels) and artificial nails (also known as gels or acrylics). Nail polishes comprise various solid components which are dissolved or suspended in non-reactive solvents. Upon application and drying, the solids deposit on the nail surface as a clear, translucent or colored film. A high degree of gloss in the cured nail polish is considered aesthetically appealing. Typically, nail polishes are easily scratched and dissolved with solvent. Such solvent solubility can be an advantage, however, as it enables the wearer to conveniently remove the nail polish.
Conventional artificial nails are comprised of chemically reactive monomers, and/or oligomers, in combination with reactive or non-reactive polymers to create systems which are typically 100% solids and do not require non-reactive solvents. Upon pre-mixing and subsequent application to the nail plate, or application and exposure to UV radiation, a chemical reaction ensues resulting in the formation of a long lasting, highly durable cross-linked thermoset nail coating that is difficult to remove. Artificial nails can possess greatly enhanced adhesion, durability, as well as scratch and solvent resistance when compared to nail polishes. However, such thermosets are much harder to remove. For acrylics and currently available “soakable gels,” removal typically requires soaking in non-reactive solvents for 30-90 minutes and may also require heavily abrading the surface or scraping with a wooden or metal probe to assist the removal process. It can take more than 90 minutes of soaking (if ever) to remove traditional UV nail gels by solvent.
There is thus an on-going need to develop nail coatings that are durable with good gloss, and that are easily removed with solvent.
Nail coatings typically comprise three layers that differ in composition and are applied sequentially: a base layer that enhances adhesion between the nail and the other layers, a color layer, and a topcoat that improves durability. It would be useful, however, if the number of layers could be reduced without compromising the adhesion and durability of the nail coating as this would facilitate and expedite application.
Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) are organosilicon compounds having a polyhedral silicate core and R groups on the surface. The general formula of a POSS may be represented by [RSiO1.5]n wherein the R groups may be hydrogen or organic moieties. The R groups may be the same or different. POSS are described, for example, in Zhou et al. Mater. Chem. Front. 2017, 1, 212.
Examples of nail coating formulations are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,263,677, 8,399,537, 8,901,199 and 9,717,672. U.S. Pat. No. 9,713,585 and U.S. Patent App. Pub. No. 2017/0056313 disclose the inclusion of POSS in nail coating formulations. These patents and published application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes within this application.